‘Peppermint Stick’ celery lives up to its name with a sweet, intense flavor. Photo courtesy Ball Horticultural Co.
Each year, I try growing something new, and this year, it was celery. Celery was never on my list, but in spring, Ball Horticultural Co. sent me a new variety, ‘Peppermint Stick’ (Apium graveolens), to trial.
I planted it in the ground and pretty much ignored it, except for watering and a little granular, organic fertilizer. It could also be grown in a large container. I don’t know when I’ve had an easier, no-fuss, no-muss vegetable plant to grow. ‘Peppermint Stick’ is not your ordinary-tasting celery.
“I didn’t expect the sweetness and flavor. I loved the big crunch, too,” said Jolene Ketzenberger, who tasted ‘Peppermint Stick’ celery for her program, Eat, Drink Indy Radio on wfyi.org.
“But while it’s great raw, it also holds its flavor when cooked. I’d love to see what chefs could do with this variety. I’m envisioning a dish that plays up that sweetness and crunch,” Ketzenberger said.
The folks at Ball Horticultural Company describe the taste as “pretty intense. More of an herb celery for finishing a dish,” said Katie Rotella, a marketing communicator at Ball. “It’s not a typical peanut-butter-and-celery snack. My product manager likes to say it’s the perfect size as a swizzle stick in his bloody Mary drinks.”
‘Peppermint Stick’ celery can be grown in a pot or in the ground. Photo courtesy Ball Horticultural Co.
‘Peppermint Stick’ gets its name from the look of the stalks, which are dark green with a reddish cast. The name also aptly describes its sweet, intense flavor. The leaves are delicious, too.
This celery can be grown from seed, harvested in about 100 days after sowing; or, as plants, which need about 80 days from planting to harvest. Look for transplants early in spring, likely marketed under the Burpee Home Garden brand. Celery plants will not hold well in the small nursery pot at the garden center. Plants and seed also should be available from mail order retailers.
There was a definite difference in taste between the older stalks and the newest ones. Just as you’d expect, older stalks were stringier, chewier and lacked the intensity of newer stalks.
Celery is one of those foods that, when I buy it, I ask myself, should I just throw it away now or wait a few weeks until it’s spoiled? With how easy ‘Peppermint Stick’ was to grow, I might make celery a staple in my vegetable garden. That way, I can harvest the stalks as needed throughout the growing season and not worry about any of it spoiling.